Photographic Image Extraction Apparatus, Photographic Image Extraction Method, and Program

ABSTRACT

A photographic image extraction apparatus according to the invention is applied to a smartphone. The smartphone includes an image capture unit that captures images of a plurality of photographs, a photographic image extraction unit that analyzes a plurality of photographic images that are the captured images of the plurality of photographs and extracts, from the plurality of photographic images, one or more photographic images having a high likelihood of containing an image of a specific person, and an extraction result display unit that displays a result of extraction by the photographic image extraction unit.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a photographic image extractionapparatus, a photographic image extraction method, and a program forextracting, from a plurality of photographic images, a photographicimage having a high likelihood of containing an image of a specificperson.

2. Related Art

As an example of such a technique, JP-A-2013-161394 has been known.JP-A-2013-161394 discloses a photograph ordering system that accesses aserver via the Internet from an information processing device, such as atablet device, to order a desired photograph. In this photographordering system, a user registers a specific person in advance, and froma plurality of photographs obtained from the server, a photographcontaining an image of the specific person is extracted and displayed ona device of the user. In this way, with the use of the Internet, a usercan order a desired photograph at any convenient time and place.

In an Internet-based photograph ordering system, such as that describedin JP-A-2013-161394, however, there is a possibility that registeredinformation about a specific person may leak on the Internet.

In the meantime, there is a known photograph ordering method whichincludes selecting a desired photograph from among a plurality ofphotographs posted on a wall or the like and filling out an order numberon an order envelope or the like to order the desired photograph. Thismethod allows even a person who is unfamiliar with operating a personalcomputer (PC) or a tablet device to order a photograph easily. It isalso easy for a photography agent or an event organizer to showphotographs to a user (a client). Thus, this method is still often usedtoday. With this method, however, it takes time to find a desiredphotograph when many photographs are posted, and there are cases whereit is difficult to allocate enough time to look at the photographs ifanother person also wishes to look at the posted photographs.

SUMMARY

An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it is possible toprovide a photographic image extraction apparatus, a photographic imageextraction method, and a program which allow a desired photograph to befound quickly from among a large number of photographs posted on a wallor the like without using a network such as the Internet.

A photographic image extraction apparatus according to an aspect of theinvention includes: an image capture unit that captures images of aplurality of photographs; a photographic image extraction unit thatanalyzes a plurality of photographic images that are the captured imagesof the plurality of photographs and extracts, from the plurality ofphotographic images, one or more photographic images having a highlikelihood of containing an image of a specific person; and anextraction result display unit that displays a result of extraction bythe photographic image extraction unit.

A photographic image extraction method according to an aspect of theinvention is the method including causing a computer to execute:capturing images of a plurality of photographs; analyzing a plurality ofphotographic images that are the captured images of the plurality ofphotographs and extracting, from the plurality of photographic images,one or more photographic images having a high likelihood of containingan image of a specific person; and displaying a result of theextracting.

With the configuration according to the aspects of the invention, one ormore photographic images having a high likelihood of containing an imageof a specific person are extracted from a plurality of photographicimages captured by the image capture unit, and the result of theextraction is displayed. This allows a desired photograph to be foundquickly even from among photographs posted on a wall or the like.Furthermore, it is possible to browse the photographic images offlinewithout being connected to the Internet, and thus, there is no securityrisk such as leakage of information about a specific person.

The photographic image extraction apparatus further includes: anidentification information obtaining unit that obtains identificationinformation for uniquely identifying each of the one or morephotographic images extracted by the photographic image extraction unit;an input unit that selects a photographic image that is to be ordered;and an ordering unit that orders a photograph of the photographic imageselected by the input unit. The ordering unit orders the photograph ofthe photographic image by using the identification information.

With the configuration, a photograph can be ordered by using thephotographic image extraction apparatus, that is, it is not necessary torefer to the result of the extraction by the photographic imageextraction apparatus or use an order envelope or the like to order aphotograph, nor is it necessary to use another device to perform anordering operation. Thus, it is possible to order the photograph of adesired photographic image quickly and easily.

In the photographic image extraction apparatus, the identificationinformation obtaining unit obtains the identification information withreference to a lookup table associating a position of each of theplurality of photographs with the identification information of thephotograph.

With the configuration, a photograph provider needs to provide only thelookup table to a user; when posting photographs, the photographprovider can be spared the burden of posting the identificationinformation in association with each of the photographs.

In the photographic image extraction apparatus, a digital watermark isembedded in each of the plurality of photographs, and the identificationinformation obtaining unit obtains the identification information fromthe digital watermark when the image capture unit captures an image.

With the configuration, a user can obtain photographic images andidentification information simultaneously by only capturing images ofphotographs. Furthermore, since the identification information isembedded as the digital watermark in each photograph, a desiredphotograph can easily be identified.

In the photographic image extraction apparatus, the image capture unitcaptures video, and the photographic image extraction unit extracts theone or more photographic images from the plurality of photographicimages that are included in the video.

With the configuration, images of a plurality of photographs arecaptured as video, and thus it is possible to obtain a large number ofphotographic images quickly compared with the case where still imagesare captured in two or more operations.

In the photographic image extraction apparatus, the extraction resultdisplay unit displays, among the plurality of photographic imagescaptured by the image capture unit, the one or more photographic imagesextracted by the photographic image extraction unit in such a way tostand out more than other photographic images as a result of theextraction.

With the configuration, a user can check the one or more photographicimages displayed in an emphasis mode while checking the photographicimages, of all the photographs, captured by the image capture unit. Thismakes it possible to not only find a desired photograph quickly, butalso check, for example, photographs not extracted due to an issue ofextraction accuracy despite containing an image of a specific person anda photograph desired to be obtained despite not containing an image of aspecific person.

In the photographic image extraction apparatus, the extraction resultdisplay unit displays the specific person in such a way to stand outmore than other persons whose images are present in the one or morephotographic images extracted by the photographic image extraction unit.

With the configuration, a specific person is displayed in an emphasismode, and thus a user can easily check whether the result of theextraction is correct.

The photographic image extraction apparatus further includes:photographic image storage that stores photographic images captured inthe past; and a specific person identifying unit that identifies, as thespecific person, a person whose image is present in a large number ofphotographic images among the photographic images stored in thephotographic image storage.

With the configuration, it is possible to spare a user the burden ofdesignating a specific person.

Note that in the case where the photographic image extraction apparatusis implemented as a smartphone, a photo database can be used as the“photographic image storage”. There is a high possibility that thisphoto database includes photographs containing an image of a subjectwhose photograph is desired to be obtained, such as a user or a familymember or friend of the user. In other words, with the configuration, itis possible to efficiently identify a specific person while using anexisting function.

The photographic image extraction apparatus further includes: personalinformation storage that stores a portrait in association with personalinformation; and a specific person identifying unit that identifies thespecific person on the basis of the personal information stored in thepersonal information storage. The photographic image extraction unitextracts the one or more photographic images by using the portrait ofthe identified specific person.

With the configuration, it is possible to spare a user the burden ofdesignating a specific person.

Note that in the case where the photographic image extraction apparatusis implemented as a smartphone, a “contact information list” or an“address book” can be used as the “personal information storage”. Thereis a high possibility that information indicating the relationship witha user (including a display name such as “father” or “son” andclassification such as “family member” or “friend”) is stored aspersonal information in the contact information list and the addressbook. In other words, with the configuration, it is possible toefficiently identify a specific person while using an existing function.

The photographic image extraction apparatus further includes a relatedperson identifying unit that analyzes the plurality of photographicimages captured by the image capture unit and identifies a relatedperson whose image is present in a photograph containing an image of thespecific person. The photographic image extraction unit extracts aphotographic image having a high likelihood of containing an image of atleast one of the specific person and the related person.

With the configuration, the subject to be extracted from thephotographic images can be not only a specific person, but also arelated person whose image is present in a photograph containing animage of the specific person.

In the photographic image extraction apparatus, the extraction resultdisplay unit displays the specific person and the related person to bedistinguishable.

With the configuration, a user can easily check, for example, whichperson is identified as the related person and whether the result ofidentifying the specific person and the related person is correct.

A program according to an aspect of the invention causes a computer toexecute processing included in the photographic image extraction method.

The use of this program makes it possible to provide a photographicimage extraction method which allows a desired photograph to be foundquickly from among a large number of photographs posted on a wall or thelike without using a network such as the Internet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a photograph orderingsystem.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of photographs being posted.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a lookup table.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of a smartphone.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a smartphone.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a method of capturing images ofphotographs as video.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of the result of photographic imageextraction being displayed.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of a smartphone according toVariation 1.

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of a smartphone according toVariation 2.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of the result of photographic imageextraction being displayed according to Variation 2.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a photographic image extraction apparatus, a photographicimage extraction method, and a program according to the invention willbe described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the presentembodiment, the photographic image extraction apparatus according to theinvention is applied to a smartphone as an example.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a photograph ordering systemSY according to an embodiment of the invention. The photograph orderingsystem SY includes a smartphone 1 (a photographic image extractionapparatus) that captures an image of a photograph and an order receivingserver 3 that receives an order of a photograph. The smartphone 1 isconnected to the base station 2 via wireless communication 4. The basestation 2 is connected to the order receiving server 3 via a network 5such as the Internet. The smartphone 1 has common elements including atouch panel 11 and a camera 12.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of photographs being posted. In FIG. 2, alarge number of photographs captured at an event or the like are postedin a posting area 60 such as a wall surface. In FIG. 2, P denotes aphotograph (a developed photograph). Although all of the images denotingphotographs in FIG. 2 are the same, in reality, each image is different.Furthermore, characters such as “SAMPLE” may be printed over thephotographs. Moreover, the photographs may be posted in a state of beingstored in photo folders.

A label 65 with a two-dimensional code C printed thereon is attached toa part of the posting area 60. The smartphone 1 captures an image of thetwo-dimensional code C when capturing images of the photographs. Aposting area code and a lookup table, which provide informationnecessary for ordering a photograph, are stored in the two-dimensionalcode C. The posting area code is information for identifying the postingarea 60. The lookup table is a table associating the position of eachphotograph (the arrangements of the photographs) among the photographsposted in the posting area 60 with identification information foridentifying the photograph. FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the lookuptable. In the case where photographs are posted in two or more columnsand two or more rows as illustrated in FIG. 2, information indicatingwhere each photograph is located in sequential order of the rows and thecolumns as illustrated in FIG. 3 is stored. The order number of eachphotograph is stored as the identification information.

Next, a hardware configuration of the smartphone 1 will be describedwith reference to FIG. 4. The smartphone 1 includes the touch panel 11,the camera 12, a communication unit 13, storage 14, and a controller 15.

The touch panel 11 is used for inputting and displaying information. Thecamera 12 captures images of the photographs. The communication unit 13communicates with the order receiving server 3 via the base station 2.Note that in the case where the smartphone 1 has a function of allowingconnection to the network 5 by using the communication unit 13 oranother element, the smartphone 1 can connect to the network 5, not viathe base station 2, and communicate with the order receiving server 3via the network 5.

The storage 14 is non-volatile memory that stores various types ofinformation, such as operating system (OS) information. In the presentembodiment, the storage 14 stores a dedicated application 21 and aphotographic image database (hereinafter referred to as a “photographicimage DB 22”). The dedicated application 21 is an application forsmartphones that extracts, from captured photographic images, one ormore photographic images having a high likelihood of containing an imageof a specific person, such as the owner of the smartphone 1 or a familymember of the owner, presents the result of extraction to a user, andallows the user to order a photograph. The photographic image DB 22 is adatabase for photographs. Photographic images captured by the smartphone1 in the past and photographic images obtained from external sources arestored in the photographic image DB 22 together with additionalinformation such as dates of capture and location information.

The controller 15 is implemented as a central processing unit (CPU), arandom access memory (RAM), and the like, and controls the touch panel11, the camera 12, the communication unit 13, and the storage 14. In thepresent embodiment, control of extraction of a photographic image andcontrol of communication with the order receiving server 3 are performedmainly in accordance with the dedicated application 21.

Next, functional elements of the smartphone 1 and the order receivingserver 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. The smartphone 1includes, as functional elements, photographic image storage 110, animage capture unit 120, an identification information obtaining unit130, a specific person identifying unit 140, a photographic imageextraction unit 150, an extraction result display unit 160, an inputunit 170, and an ordering unit 180. The order receiving server 3includes an order receiving unit 310 as a functional element.

The photographic image storage 110 corresponds to the photographic imageDB 22 and stores a large number of photographic images captured in thepast. Note that the photographic images may either be images captured bythe smartphone 1 or images captured by an image capture device otherthan the smartphone 1.

By using the camera 12, the image capture unit 120 captures images ofthe photographs posted in the posting area 60 (capturing). The imagecapture unit 120 according to the present embodiment captures video. Amethod of capturing an image is described below with reference to FIG.6. In FIG. 6, 71 denotes a range of image capture by the image captureunit 120, and 72 denotes a direction in which the range of image capturemoves. As illustrated in FIG. 6, a user captures the photographs thatare to be posted in the posting area 60 while moving the range of imagecapture. This image capture includes capturing an image of the label 65with the two-dimensional code C printed thereon. Note that the directionin which the range of image capture moves is not limited to thedirection illustrated in FIG. 6; for example, a method of capturingimages of all over the posting area 60 while causing the range of imagecapture to reciprocate in the column direction is applicable.

The description returns to FIG. 5. The identification informationobtaining unit 130 obtains identification information for uniquelyidentifying each photographic image extracted by the photographic imageextraction unit 150, to be described later. In the present embodiment,the identification information is obtained with reference to the lookuptable illustrated in FIG. 3. Specifically, the identificationinformation obtaining unit 130 analyzes the result of the image captureby the image capture unit 120 to determine where each photograph islocated in sequential order of the rows and the columns and reads fromthe lookup table the identification information corresponding to theresult of the determination.

The specific person identifying unit 140 identifies, as a specificperson, a person whose image is present in a large number ofphotographic images among the photographic images stored in thephotographic image storage 110. As an identification method, an existingfacial recognition technology (the feature extraction and comparisonmethod, the template matching method, or the like) is used. For example,it is conceivable that several popular people whose images are presentin a large number of photographic images are each regarded as a specificperson or that a person whose image is present in at least apredetermined number of photographs is regarded as a specific person.Note that the additional information added to the photographs may beused in such a manner that a user designates a date, a location, or thelike, to identify, as a specific person, a person the image of which wascaptured on the date or at the location. It is also possible to regard,as a specific person, a person whose image is present in a specificphotographic image designated by a user among photographic images loadedon the smartphone 1 used to capture images of the photographs posted inthe posting area 60.

The photographic image extraction unit 150 analyzes the result of theimage capture by the image capture unit 120 and extracts a photographicimage having a high likelihood of containing an image of the specificperson identified by the specific person identifying unit 140 (analyzingand extracting). An existing facial recognition technology is used inthis extraction method as well. One or more photographic images may beextracted with reference to arbitrary information input by a user, suchas the gender, age, height, or weight of the specific person. Theextraction of a photographic image may happen after the video capturedby the image capture unit 120 is stored or may happen during the videocapture by the image capture unit 120, in other words, in real-time.

The extraction result display unit 160 displays, on the touch panel 11,the result of the extraction by the photographic image extraction unit150 (displaying). In the present embodiment, among the plurality ofphotographic images obtained as a result of the image capture by theimage capture unit 120, one or more photographic images extracted by thephotographic image extraction unit 150 are displayed in such a way tostand out more than the other photographic images as a result of theextraction.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of the result of photographic imageextraction being displayed. In FIG. 7, Ea and Eb denote a photographicimage display region and an input region, respectively, and PG denotes aphotographic image (a captured image of the posted photograph). Eachphotographic image is obtained by clipping, on the basis of regiondetermination performed on the photographs, a photograph region from theresult of the image capture by the image capture unit 120, andperforming a well-known process of image correction, such as correctionof trapezoidal distortion or contrast adjustment, on an image within thephotograph region.

In FIG. 7, PG1 to PG5 denote the extracted photographic images, and 81denotes an emphasis mark for a specific person “A” while 82 denotes anemphasis mark for a specific person “B”. With this, among the capturedphotographic images, one or more photographic images, namely, PG1 toPG5, extracted by the photographic image extraction unit 150 (thephotographic images including the emphasis mark denoted by 81 or 82) aredisplayed in the photographic image display region Ea in such a way tostand out more than the other photographic images. Although thephotographic images are emphasized with thick frames in FIG. 7, it isalso possible to use other methods such as changing the color of aphotograph frame and highlighting. The extraction result display unit160 displays different specific persons with emphasis marks in differentdisplay styles (for examples, with marks of different color, shape, orline type). In addition, touching the touch panel 11 at the position ofthe photographic image PG displayed on the touch panel 11 enablesswitching between a selected mode where the photographic image PG isemphasized and a non-selected mode resulting from cancellation of theemphasis mode.

In the input region Eb, the number of selected photographs and theamount to be charged for the selected photographs are displayed togetherwith an “ORDER” button 85 and a “RE-SELECT” button 86. Every time a userswitches between the selected mode and the non-selected mode for thephotographic image PG displayed on the touch panel 11, the number ofphotographs and the amount to be charged for the photographs which aredisplayed in the input region Eb change accordingly. When the “ORDER”button 85 is selected, the photographs that correspond to the emphasizedphotographic images PG1 to PG5 are ordered. When the “RE-SELECT” button86 is selected, the emphasis mode of the photographic images PG1 to PG5is cancelled, and a user is prompted to re-select a photographic image.

The description returns to FIG. 5. By a user operating the touch panel11, the input unit 170 specifies a photographic image to be ordered.When the “ORDER” button 85 is selected, the photographic image PGdisplayed in an emphasis mode at the time is selected. When the“RE-SELECT” button 86 is selected, the arbitrarily selected input from auser is reset, and the display returns to the state of displaying theresult of the extraction by the photographic image extraction unit 150,allowing a user to arbitrarily re-select a desired photographic imagefrom among the displayed photographic images.

The ordering unit 180 orders the photograph corresponding to thephotographic image selected by the input unit 170. At this time, theidentification information (the order number) obtained by theidentification information obtaining unit 130 is used for the ordering.Specifically, the order is placed by transmitting to the order receivingserver 3 the identification information on each photographic imageselected by the input unit 170. At this time, the posting area code readfrom the two-dimensional code C on the label 65 and user informationregistered in the dedicated application 21 (such as name, address, andpayment information) are transmitted as well.

The order receiving unit 310 of the order receiving server 3 receivesthe order of the photograph by receiving the identification information,the posting area code, and the user information from the smartphone 1.Subsequently, the order receiving server 3 provides image data of theordered photograph via the network 5. The method of providing aphotograph may be mailing of a developed (or printed) photograph.

As described above, the smartphone 1 according to the present embodimentextracts one or more photographic images having a high likelihood ofcontaining an image of a specific person from a plurality ofphotographic images captured by the image capture unit 120, and displaysthe result of the extraction on the touch panel 11. Therefore, thesmartphone 1 according to the present embodiment is capable of finding adesired photograph quickly even when the desired photograph is among thephotographs posted in the posting area 60. Furthermore, it is possibleto browse and select the photographic images offline without beingconnected to the Internet and thus, there is no security risk such asleakage of information about a specific person. Moreover, there is apossibility that the server or the like makes the photographic imagesavailable to the public, then a user (a client) can download thepublicly available photographic images to a device of the user, meaningthat the image data can be obtained without ordering photographs. Inthis case, business opportunities of photograph providers (photographyagents or event organizers) may be lost, but this problem of losingbusiness opportunities can be avoided by showing a user the photographsposted in the posting area 60.

Furthermore, the image capture unit 120 according to the presentembodiment can capture images of a plurality of photographs as video andthus obtain a large number of photographic images quickly compared withthe case of capturing still images in two or more operations. Theidentification information obtaining unit 130 according to the presentembodiment obtains the identification information for ordering aphotograph from the lookup table, thus making it possible to spare aphotograph provider the burden of posting the identification informationin association with each photograph (for example, the burden of writingby hand or labeling order numbers on or around the photographs). It isalso possible to obtain the two-dimensional code C when capturing imagesof photographs (as a part of a video), thus allowing a user to be sparedthe burden of obtaining the lookup table. Furthermore, in the presentembodiment, it is possible to automatically identify a specific person,such as a user or a family member or friend of the user, through imageanalysis on the photographic images stored in the photographic imageDB22, thus allowing a user to be spared the burden of designating thespecific person.

Furthermore, the extraction result display unit 160 according to thepresent embodiment displays one or more photographic images extracted bythe photographic image extraction unit 150 in such a way to stand outmore than the other photographic images as a result of the extraction,and therefore a user can check the one or more photographic imagesdisplayed in an emphasis mode while checking all the photographic imagesof captured photographs. This makes it possible to not only find adesired photograph quickly, but also check, for example, photographs notextracted due to an issue of extraction accuracy despite containing animage of a specific person and a photograph desired to be obtaineddespite not containing an image of a specific person. In addition, sincea specific person is displayed in an emphasis mode, a user can checkwhether the result of the extraction is correct (whether the result ofthe extraction certainly contains an image of a specific person).

Note that the following variations are applicable without depending onthe foregoing embodiment.

Variation 1

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of the smartphone 1 according toVariation 1. The smartphone 1 according to the present variationincludes personal information storage 210 instead of the photographicimage storage 110 (see FIG. 5) according to the foregoing embodiment.The personal information storage 210 stores a portrait in associationwith personal information and corresponds to a “contact informationlist” or an “address book” included in the smartphone 1 as a commonfunction. Information indicating the relationship with a user (includinga display name such as “father” or “son” and classification such as“family member” or “friend”) is stored as personal information in thispersonal information storage 210. The specific person identifying unit140 according to the present variation refers to the personalinformation and identifies, as a specific person, a person closelyrelated to a user. Subsequently, the photographic image extraction unit150 extracts one or more photographic images from the capturedphotographic images by using the portrait of the specific person storedin the personal information storage 210. In the present variation,personal names stored in the personal information storage 210 areindicated in the input region Eb as the names “Mr./Ms. A” and “Mr./Ms.B” (see FIG. 7).

Furthermore, as another variation, it is possible to identify a specificperson on the basis of records of communication and calls stored inassociation with the “contact information list” or the “address book”.As an identification method, it is conceivable to identify, as aspecific person, a person who often communicates or makes and receivescalls, a person whose amount of communication is large, or a personwhose duration of calls is long, for example.

Furthermore, as yet another variation, information in a socialnetworking service (SNS) may be used; a person who often communicatesthrough the SNS, a person whose duration of communication through theSNS is long, or a person who often accesses the SNS may be identified asa specific person. In this case, the photographic image extraction unit150 extracts a photographic image by using a profile photographregistered in the SNS.

Variation 2

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of the smartphone 1 according toVariation 2. The smartphone 1 according to the present variationincludes a related person identifying unit 220 in addition to thefunction elements according to the foregoing embodiment (see FIG. 5).The related person identifying unit 220 analyzes photographic imagescaptured by the image capture unit 120 and identifies a related personwhose image is present in a photograph containing an image of thespecific person. As an identification method, it is conceivable toidentify, as a related person, a person whose image is present in atleast a predetermined number of photographs containing an image of aspecific person or several popular people whose images are present in alarge number of photographs containing an image of a specific person,for example. The photographic image extraction unit 150 according to thepresent variation extracts a photographic image having a high likelihoodof containing an image of at least one of the specific person and therelated person. Furthermore, the extraction result display unit 160according to the present variation displays the specific person and therelated person to be distinguishable.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of the result of photographic imageextraction being displayed according to the present variation. In FIGS.10, 81 and 83 denote an emphasis mark for a specific person “A” and anemphasis mark for a related person “C”, respectively. In this way, inthe photographic image display region Ea, the emphasis mark for aspecific person and the emphasis mark for a related person are displayedin different display styles. Among the captured photographic images ofthe plurality of photographs, photographic images PG1, PG2, PG4, and PG6containing an image of at least one of the specific person and therelated person (a photographic image including the emphasis mark denotedby 81 or 83) are displayed in such a way to stand out more than theother photographic images. According to the present variation, thesubject to be extracted from the photographic images can be not only thespecific person, but also the related person whose image is present in aphotograph containing an image of the specific person (such as a personwho a user became acquainted with at an event, the photographs of whichare posted). Furthermore, since the specific person and the relatedperson are displayed to be distinguishable, a user can check, forexample, which person is identified as the related person and whetherthe result of identifying the specific person and the related person iscorrect.

Note that in the case where two or more persons are identified as therelated person, it is preferable that each of the persons be displayedto be distinguishable. As yet another variation, the subject to bedisplayed in an emphasis mode may be only the photographic imagecontaining an image of the specific person or only the photographicimage containing an image of the related person.

Variation 3

Although the identification information obtaining unit 130 according tothe foregoing embodiment obtains the identification information withreference to the lookup table, a digital watermark may be embedded in aphotograph, and the identification information may be obtained byreading the digital watermark. In the present variation, theidentification information in the form of a digital watermark isembedded in every photograph posted in the posting area 60. Code images,such as two-dimensional codes or bar codes, characters, symbols, or thelike are used as the identification information. The identificationinformation obtaining unit 130 according to the present variation readsthe digital watermark when the image capture unit 120 captures an image,and obtains the identification information of each photograph (eachphotographic image) from the digital watermark. With this configuration,a user can obtain photographic images and identification informationsimultaneously by only capturing images of photographs. Furthermore,since the identification information is embedded in a photograph as adigital watermark, a photographic image and identification informationcan easily be matched with each other.

As yet another variation, the identification information may be printedon the photograph in a visible manner. Furthermore, a label or the likeindicating the identification information may be provided around thephotograph, or the identification information (the order number) may behandwritten around the photograph. It is possible to obtain theidentification information when the image capture unit 120 captures animage in this variation as well.

Variation 4

Furthermore, although the specific person identifying unit 140 accordingto the foregoing embodiment identifies a specific person with referenceto the photographic image storage 110, a specific person may beidentified in accordance with input from a user. For example, aplurality of photographic images of photographs captured by the imagecapture unit 120 may be displayed on the touch panel 11, and when a userarbitrarily selects a photographic image among the plurality ofphotographic images, one or more persons whose image or images arepresent in the arbitrarily selected photographic image may be identifiedas a specific person. Alternatively, when a person whose image ispresent in an arbitrarily selected photographic image is arbitrarilyselected, the arbitrarily selected person may be identified as aspecific person. Furthermore, in this case, the photographic imageextraction unit 150 may search other photographic images for a specificperson in consideration of the clothes of one or more persons or thearbitrarily selected person whose image is present in the arbitrarilyselected photographic image. Consequently, among the photographic imagescaptured at an event on the same day, a person participating in theevent is likely to wear the same clothes, and thus a specific person canbe extracted in accordance with features of the clothes even if theoutcome of facial recognition is insufficient due to the orientation ofthe face of a person whose image is present in a photograph. In thiscase, the extraction result display unit 160 displays, as a result ofthe extraction, the arbitrarily selected photographic image and aphotographic image among other photographic images that has a highlikelihood of containing an image of a specific person.

Variation 5

Furthermore, although the image capture unit 120 captures images of thephotographs posted in the posting area 60 in the foregoing embodiment,the target to be captured may be photographs arranged on a table,photographs attached to a photo album, or photographs displayed on alarge monitor. Moreover, photographs in a bundle may be fed one by oneso that an image of each of the photographs is captured.

Variation 6

Furthermore, although the photographic image extraction apparatusaccording to the invention is implemented as a single smartphone 1 inthe foregoing embodiment, the photographic image extraction apparatusmay be implemented as two smartphones 1. Specifically, the photographicimage extraction apparatus may include a first apparatus having theimage capture unit 120 and a second apparatus having the other elementsand may be configured so that the second apparatus obtains photographicimages captured by the first apparatus, extracts a photographic image,and displays the result of the extraction.

Variation 7

Furthermore, although the posting area code and the lookup table areobtained by reading the two-dimensional code C from the label 65attached to the posting area 60 in the foregoing embodiment, these datacan be obtained by another method such as by accessing the orderreceiving server 3 and obtaining the data from the order receivingserver 3. Note that the posting area code does not need to be obtainedif photographs in each posting area can be assigned differentidentification information. The lookup table does not need to beobtained either if photographs are attached in a predetermined order (ifthe smartphone 1 is capable of identifying identification informationfrom the position of an attached photograph).

Variation 8

Furthermore, although the image capture unit 120 captures video in theforegoing embodiment, the image capture unit 120 may capture a stillimage. In this case, images of a plurality of photographs may becaptured in one still image.

Variation 9

Furthermore, the extraction result display unit 160 may display only oneor more photographic images extracted by the photographic imageextraction unit 150 instead of displaying the plurality of photographicimages captured by the image capture unit 120. It is also possible tocapture a plurality of photographic images by using the image captureunit 120 and then display the plurality of photographic images, andextract one or more photographic images by using the photographic imageextraction unit 150 and then display the result of the extractionillustrated in FIG. 7 or the one or more photographic images. OtherVariations

Furthermore, the structural elements of the smartphone 1 described abovemay be provided as a program. Various recording media in which theprogram is stored, such as a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) anda flash memory, may also be provided. Specifically, the scope of theclaims for the invention includes a program (including the dedicatedapplication 21) for causing a computer to function as the structuralelements of the smartphone 1 and a recording medium having the programrecorded thereon. Note that the program for causing the computer tofunction as the structural elements of the smartphone 1 may be obtainedvia a network or the like by the smartphone 1 using, as a key, thetwo-dimensional code C on the label 65 posted in the posting area 60.

Furthermore, although the photographic image extraction apparatusaccording to the invention is implemented as the smartphone 1 in theforegoing embodiment, the photographic image extraction apparatus may beimplemented as another information processing device or image captureapparatus having an image capture function, such as a tablet device, acell phone, a laptop personal computer (PC), a digital camera, or avideo camera. Moreover, the input unit 170 and the ordering unit 180 maybe omitted; it is possible to use a method in which a user fills out anorder number on an order envelope or the like to place an order. Otherchanges that do not depart from the essence of the invention can be madewhere necessary.

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Japanese PatentApplication No. 2015-216382, filed Nov. 4 2015. The entire disclosure ofJapanese Patent Application No. 2015-216382 is hereby incorporatedherein by reference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A photographic image extraction apparatus, comprising: an image capture unit that captures images of a plurality of photographs; a photographic image extraction unit that analyzes a plurality of photographic images that are the captured images of the plurality of photographs and extracts, from the plurality of photographic images, one or more photographic images having a high likelihood of containing an image of a specific person; and an extraction result display unit that displays a result of extraction by the photographic image extraction unit.
 2. The photographic image extraction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an identification information obtaining unit that obtains identification information for uniquely identifying each of the one or more photographic images extracted by the photographic image extraction unit; an input unit that selects a photographic image that is to be ordered; and an ordering unit that orders a photograph of the photographic image selected by the input unit, wherein the ordering unit orders the photograph of the photographic image by using the identification information.
 3. The photographic image extraction apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the identification information obtaining unit obtains the identification information with reference to a lookup table associating a position of each of the plurality of photographs with the identification information of the photograph.
 4. The photographic image extraction apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a digital watermark is embedded in each of the plurality of photographs, and the identification information obtaining unit obtains the identification information from the digital watermark when the image capture unit captures an image.
 5. The photographic image extraction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image capture unit captures video, and the photographic image extraction unit extracts the one or more photographic images from the plurality of photographic images that are included in the video.
 6. The photographic image extraction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the extraction result display unit displays, among the plurality of photographic images captured by the image capture unit, the one or more photographic images extracted by the photographic image extraction unit in such a way to stand out more than other photographic images as a result of the extraction.
 7. The photographic image extraction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the extraction result display unit displays the specific person in such a way to stand out more than other persons whose images are present in the one or more photographic images extracted by the photographic image extraction unit.
 8. The photographic image extraction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: photographic image storage that stores photographic images captured in the past; and a specific person identifying unit that identifies, as the specific person, a person whose image is present in a large number of photographic images among the photographic images stored in the photographic image storage.
 9. The photographic image extraction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: personal information storage that stores a portrait in association with personal information; and a specific person identifying unit that identifies the specific person on the basis of the personal information stored in the personal information storage, wherein the photographic image extraction unit extracts the one or more photographic images by using the portrait of the identified specific person.
 10. The photographic image extraction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a related person identifying unit that analyzes the plurality of photographic images captured by the image capture unit and identifies a related person whose image is present in a photograph containing an image of the specific person, wherein the photographic image extraction unit extracts a photographic image having a high likelihood of containing an image of at least one of the specific person and the related person.
 11. The photographic image extraction apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the extraction result display unit displays the specific person and the related person to be distinguishable.
 12. A photographic image extraction method comprising causing a computer to execute: capturing images of a plurality of photographs; analyzing a plurality of photographic images that are the captured images of the plurality of photographs and extracting, from the plurality of photographic images, one or more photographic images having a high likelihood of containing an image of a specific person; and displaying a result of the extracting.
 13. A program which causes a computer to execute processing included in the photographic image extraction method according to claim
 12. 